Empathy is the emotional capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other person's frame of reference, which is the concept of putting yourself in another person's shoes. If you have empathy, you can understand and even feel what other people are going through when they are up against a ton of harrowing emotions.

This is both a blessing and a curse and I can say this from experience because I consider myself an empath.

I am happy to be an empath. I take pride in being able to understand and reflect on the emotions I am feeling and feelings of those around me. However, an empath such as myself faces daily struggles when it comes to their empathy and sensitivity, especially when other peoples feelings are involved.

You see the thing about being empathetic is that we are SUPER sensitive to everything and everyone.

This causes issues for me specifically because I am extroverted and ALWAYS around other people. I am very involved on campus, I have multiple jobs, a close family and plenty of close friends. I am considered a people person, a "social butterfly,' which is great until my empathy towards other people starts to affect me.

All these people in my life often times will come to me for support, advice or just someone to vent to. I'm thankful my loved ones trust me enough to come to me with their struggles and accomplishments, but sometimes it can just be an emotional overload.

I tend to get emotionally exhausted.

This is not a rare occurrence for me. When you're an empath, you feel literally everything and you become emotionally involved in situations that aren't even yours. When my friends and family come to me and share their specific situations I have the ability to put myself in their shoes and feel the way they feel which can be painful at times.

For example, lately quite a few of my friends have been coming to me with their mental health issues. I am happy to be there for them and listen, but with every story behind their anxiety attacks or every time they seem to glance around the room to avoid the emotional confrontation, I can actually feel their discomfort and pain too.

As an empath, I take on their feelings as my own, even when there is no reason for me to be feeling what is solely theirs. With every ounce of my being, I want to take their pain away when they are in devastating circumstances. On the other hand, when they are basking in glory, I want to envelop them in love and care and show how proud I am of them.

Being extroverted and an empath is a daily struggle.

You are constantly around people and constantly taking in their energy as your own, whether it is a good or bad thing. I have the incredible ability to detect when someone feels uncomfortable or negative. I have the intuition to detect when someone is excited or anxious.

I have the emotional intelligence to understand where people are coming from when they describe a situation I have never been in before. For this I am grateful because I am easily able to understand those around me and relate to them despite major character differences. However, it's still a struggle in and of itself.

My empathy has put me in second place in my own mind.

I enjoy the "touchy-feely" stuff. I love the thought of raw emotion and being there for people when stuff gets real. I have been like this for as long as I can remember. I have always been comfortable with putting things aside to help my friends and loved ones in need, however, my mass amount of empathy for others has put me in second place my whole life.

I care so much about the opinions and feelings of others that I forget about myself a lot of the time. There are also times where I feel that I have been stripped of positive and solid advice because other people I go to for advice do not have the same amount of empathy I have. They aren't truly understanding and feeling what I am feeling the way I do in return for them.

At the end of the day, I am extroverted, empathetic and exhausted.

I am triple E. After typing this article it doesn't sound like such a bad thing though. I am tired, yes. I am tired of constantly putting my feelings aside to take on others feelings. I am still learning to properly use my skills. As I move forward after writing this, I can positively say I can use my gift for the good and in a healthy way.

I will continue being extroverted and surrounding myself with people from all walks of life. I will continue listening and understanding my loved ones to the best of my abilities. I now refuse to let it bring me down. I will learn to separate their feelings and lives from mine, and who knows, maybe soon I'll find someone who can be triple E right beside me.